❁ [ first kickoff ]

[notsoquiet]

Characters: Haruna and you!
Setting: Mid-afternoon, fourth floor. Before the dinner is served.
Format: Whichever you fancy.
Summary: Haruna arrives in the Tower, in this weird dress no less. After wondering around the first six floors, she decides to take a break in the lounge.
Warnings: Scared 13 thirteen year old girl. But that's nothing new.



She couldn't help but sigh at the situation she was in.

It was still hazy, but she knew she fainted before coming here. There were those two players, one with white wings on his back and one in black tights. The latter had grabbed her wrist and said something about being chosen. Then ... nothing. She tried and tried to remember, but it was no use. This odd dress she was in was probably his handy work as well.

Then there was this place. The collar and the letter and floor numbers just swarmed around her head. The letter told her clearly that her world was destroyed, but she can't - she can't just accept that! She didn't want to. If it had, then what about the team and her senpais? Her school? Her home? Her foster family? ... Her brother? After reading the letter, she was so desperate to find them all safe and sound that she didn't even check what she had on and rushed out of her room.

But despite all that, she couldn't find them.

"Aaaah! I hate this!"

Her frustrated shout echoed in the large space, followed by rather loud stomach growl.

... And why she is hungry now of all times? She sighed yet again.

Comments

[kickspenguins]

[Sakuma's taken to wandering a lot lately since it's hard to ignore someone when you live in the same room as them. Somehow he ends up in the lounge but when he notices that someone else is in there, he decides to backtrack and go somewhere else.

Until the other occupant speaks, of course.

He recognizes her voice but unsure, he makes his way closer.]

Otonashi...?

1/3

[notsoquiet]

H-huh?

[ Her name catches her off guard and she looks up to see Sakuma. She blinks slowly. ]

2/3

[notsoquiet]

[ And then. And then she realizes who he is. ]

3/3

[notsoquiet]

[ Standing up immediately, she rushes over to him. Maybe, maybe they're okay after all! ]

Sakuma-san! Y-You're okay! Thank goodness. I thought I was here all alone and ...

[ She quickly wipes away her tears. ]

What about onii-chan? Is he, is he here?

[whatpenguin]

[Genda, of course, had actually been passing through the floor to go take care of his newfound black eye - which you can blame Sakuma for, of course - when he had heard Haruna's voice. Kidou's precious sister...!

He hurries into the lounge - only to pass and almost reel back at the sight of Sakuma there as well.]

... It's good to see that you're okay, Otonashi-san.

[He's being on his best behavior for now - Kidou's precious baby sister and all.]

[kickspenguins]

[Oh great, what was he doing here. Sakuma actually tenses up a bit and pointedly looks at Haruna as he opts to pretend that Genda doesn't exist.]

No, Kidou's here too. I'm not sure how glad he'll be to see that they brought you here though.

[notsoquiet]

[ The news of her brother's safety overtakes everything at the moment. She looks so relieved. ]

I'm glad to hear that ...

[ A hiccup. Oh no, she feels like she's going to cry for real. But she can't cry in front of her brother's friends!

Another wipe at her eyes. ]

[whatpenguin]

Ah -

[No matter how Sakuma's treating him at the moment, Genda can't let Haruna cry. Not if she's going to meet up with Kidou later! :(

He crosses the lounge to stand by her side, giving her a smile.]

I'm sure he'd be really happy to see you, actually. Right, Sakuma?

[pengeen]

[It was just another day in the Tower for Kidou. He had woken up rather early for practice, and he had practiced until his hunger was hard to ignore. So, he picks up his soccer ball and makes his way to the fourth floor, not prepared for what he was about to see.

He stands in the doorway like a deer in headlights, for what seems like forever. Shaking his head, he drops his soccer ball and runs over to the other side of the room, tears starting to sting his eyes.]

Haruna!

[notsoquiet]

[ That voice - .... !

It ... it really is him! Haruna quickly stands up from her seat and runs over to him. Meeting her brother half-way, Haruna throws her arms around and sobs into his shirt. ]

Onii-chan!! I-I ... I was so scared ... !

[pengeen]

[He Holds onto her tight, like he was afraid of her disappearing if he let go.]

It's alright Haruna, you're safe now.

[He couldn't help the tears falling down his cheeks. It had been two months since he'd seen his little sister, and the last time he saw her was during that match, while her life was in danger. Needless to say, he was very relieved that she was here in his arms right now.]

[notsoquiet]

Mmhm!

[ But her tears are little different from Kidou's. They are of relief, from knowing that she's not alone and knowing that he's safe. She might not know the dangers of the Tower yet, but it can wait. ]

It's okay now ...

[pengeen]

[He gives her one more tight squeeze and lets go, gently pushing her back so he can wipe the tears off her face.]

I'll keep you safe as long as we're both here, I promise.

[There's no way he'll let anything bad happen to Haruna, he'd give up his own life if it meant keeping her from experiencing what he had already experienced himself.]

And now that you're here, we should get you changed into something more comfortable. [Because ew that dress]

[notsoquiet]

Uh-huh. Thank you Onii-chan.

[ A grateful nod. She's still bit disoriented from the crying, but the mention of her dress snaps her out of it. ]

-I did have a trunk at the end of my bed. [ a pause. ] But I don't know if I have any clothes in there.

[restitchtime]

Hey, join the club. If you come to enough meetings you'll even get a Letterman jacket for your troubles.

[Rose had come to the lounge to find a relatively quiet place to work on her music, but she can't help but snark at that outburst. damn did she know the feelings, girl.]

[notsoquiet]

[ holy cow what -

Obviously taken by surprise, Haruna turns around to see Rosa, sitting not that far away from her. Now embarrassed and hungry, she gives the other girl a sheepish grin. ]

Good to see that I am not the only one. Sorry for shouting out like that though.

[restitchtime]

[that gets Rose to chuckle a little]

Hey, it's no problem. There's a lot worse that some loonies have done around here than shriek in public places.

[notsoquiet]

[ Oh. Aha. It looks like she's pretty carefree person. Haruna relaxes reflexively. ]

Oh really? I just arrived here so I don't have any clue - ...

Could you tell me more about this place? I'd really appreciate it!

[restitchtime]

Sure, why not? It's a pretty basic concept - the place is total shit and gets off on torture porn, which is pretty much why we're here. Even when it's not actively trying to shred us to pieces you've got to watch your step or something'll probably snap off a foot.

[notsoquiet]

... That's worse than what I imagined.

[ She knew something fishy was going on. But torture p-porn? Goodness! ] But it's better to know about these things than not.

[forceless]

Anger, frustration, despair? Yep, that sounded kind of familiar coming from anyone around here. The stomach growl was pretty easy to pick up on too.

"Hungry?" Ven asked, walking up next to her and offering a somber smile. "It might help with whatever problem you're having."

[notsoquiet]

Haruna jumped slightly. Her expression was hopeful for a minute then it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Disappointed as she was that it wasn't anybody she knew, she gave the kind boy a smile.

"Maybe. But this place is so huge, I haven't had the chance to find the cafeteria." She was too busy trying to find her brother after all.

[forceless]

"Heheh, don't worry. This place is pretty confusing when you first get here."

He held out his hand out to her, both as a greeting and to offer her support or lead her if she needed it. "I can show you where the cafeteria is, if you want. It's not too far from here."

[notsoquiet]

Haruna hesitated before reaching out. It was a bit scary to trust a total stranger in a foreign place, but the boy didn't radiate any bad intentions. If anything, she should give him the benefit of doubt.

Taking his hand, she stood up from her seat and smiled gratefully at him.

"That would be a big help. Umm, thank you. I'm Otonashi Haruna by the way." Oh but would Otonashi be difficult to pronounce for a foreigner? "But you can just call me Haruna."

[forceless]

"Don't worry about it! There's new people around here all the time that can use a helping hand. Gotta look out for each other, right?" He grinned and nodded, taking her hand and slowly leading her towards the stairs.

"My name's Ventus-- but you can call me Ven. Nice to meet you!"